Google Pixel 9 vs. Pixel 9 Pro
Google has a pretty expansive lineup of phones this year, with a total of four Pixel 9 phones so far. And this year you have a choice between two compact options - the 9 and the 9 Pro.
There is an almost 300 bucks worth of a price difference between the 128GB/12GB Pixel 9 and the 128GB/16GB Pixel 9 Pro without considering any holiday deals or carrier rebates.
So if you are wondering whether the Pixel 9 Pro is worth the price premium over the vanilla Pixel 9, we are here to help as we will be putting them head-to-head in this comparison based on our extensive review findings.
Table of Contents:
For starters, you can compare the complete specs sheets or directly continue with our editor's assessment in the following text.
Size comparison
The Google Pixel 9 and 9 Pro are practically identical size-wise. That's kind of the point. Both phones are actually considered pretty compact by modern standards, measuring just 152.8 x 72 x 8.5 mm and tipping the scale at 198 grams and 199 grams, respectively.
That latter bit is quite impressive, and we aren't quite sure how Google managed to include a whole extra telephoto camera without reducing the battery capacity or increasing the weight. Then again, the vanilla model is kind of on the heavier side to begin with.
The two phones are constructed exactly the same, with an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the front and the back. Both phones have IP68 ingress protection.
The two phones have the same connectivity options as well. This includes Sub-6 5G and even mmWave in certain phone variants. Both the vanilla and Pro have a single Nano-SIM slot and eSIM support. There is dual-band GPS for positioning, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3 with LE, aptX HD, and tri-band Wi-Fi 7. Both phones have a USB 3.1 Gen 1 port, which means a theoretical max transfer rate of 5Gbps. While this is not well documented, both phones actually support DP video output over Type-C.
The only real connectivity difference between the two is Ultra Wideband (UWB) support, which is only available on the Pixel 9 Pro.
Display comparison
The Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro have identically sized 6.3-inch displays. Both also have a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support. There is no Dolby Vision video support on either one.
The Pixel 9 Pro panel is superior for a few reasons. It has a higher resolution at 1280 x 2856 pixels, compared to 1080 x 2424 pixels on Pixel 9.
The Pro is also using LTPO tech for more dynamic refresh rate switching and better power efficiency in the process.
And finally, the Pixel 9 Pro display is a little bit brighter than that of the Pixel 9. Both reach over 2,200 nits in our testing, which is plenty to be comfortable outdoors, but the Pixel 9 Pro goes an extra 100nits higher for what that's worth.